The stories behind the science

From the Channel

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Ingenium Channel is a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.

The Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum during its grand tour of the United States, when it was owned by Sealed Power Corporation. Anon. “Pohled na Ciervovu autogiro za letu.” Letectvi, November 1932, 310.
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Aviation
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“‘Flying Windmill’ here on Wednesday”: The great journey of Donald Walker and the Pitcairn PCA-2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, part 2

Profile picture for user rfortier
May 9, 2021
You came back, my reading friend? Really? Yours truly is touched, really. No pun intended. You will remember that this week’s issue of our blog / bulletin / thingee will be concerned with the Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and… You have a question, don’t you? Let me guess, and answer it forthwith. “Pohled na Ciervovu autogiro za letu” means “view of a Cierva autogiro in flight” in Czech. And yes, the photo just above came from a Czech magazine. I must have told
A young woman wears a traditional Vietnamese dress in bright pink.
4 m
Article
Social Science & Culture
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Asian Heritage Month: A conversation with Linda Dao

Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
May 6, 2021
In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, the Ingenium Channel highlights the work of Linda Dao, who is working with the Canadian Space Agency.
Three images side by side, microscopic view of plant cells, space debris burning up in the night sky, garbage on a beach.
12 m
Article
Agriculture
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3 things you should know about living inoculants, space debris, and an ocean of plastic waste

Profile picture for user Renée-Claude Goulet
2
May 5, 2021
For the May edition, we examine a new product that could give your garden a boost, the growing issue of space debris, and the urgent need to address plastic waste in our world ocean.
The Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum when it was owned by Standard Oil Company of New York. Anon., “Advertisement – Standard Oil Company of New York.” Aviation, May 1931, 22.
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Aviation
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“‘Flying Windmill’ here on Wednesday”: The great journey of Donald Walker and the Pitcairn PCA-2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, part 1

Profile picture for user rfortier
May 2, 2021
Greetings, my reading friend. May I wish you a happy International Workers’ Day? Yours truly must admit that I rather like union people, the gentlepeople who gave me paid holidays, a retirement pension, a reasonable work week and many other things I often took / take for granted, but I digress. As you may perhaps have noticed, I am also quite fond of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum of Ottawa, Ontario, one of Canada’s national museums. You may have been amused, or irritated, by the many
A graphical treatment of an image shows a wide-eyed young person, with their head seemingly opened up. Some hand-drawn squiggles and a lightning bolt appear in white on the top section of the head.
3 m
Article
Engineering & Technology
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Science Odyssey 2021: Ingenium museums offer inspiring, virtual experiences

Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
Apr 29, 2021
Tap into your inner scientist! Ingenium is offering up virtual experiments, challenges, and crafts as part of Science Odyssey 2021.
A collage of the 5 winning LEGO creations for each category.
8 m
Article
Arts & Design
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Building imagination: Ingenium members shine in 2021 LEGO® contest

Profile picture for user Véronique Kenny
Apr 27, 2021
Creativity and imagination are the building blocks for success — particularly when it comes to the Ingenium members-only LEGO® contest.
A sober, no-frills advertisement from Elzéar Fortier Limitée of Québec, Québec. Anon., “Advertisement – Elzéar Fortier Limitée.” L’Action catholique, 8 April 1946, 9.
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Food
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He was a smooth operator: Elzéar Fortier and the production of soft drinks in Québec, Québec

Profile picture for user rfortier
Apr 25, 2021
Before going any further into the textual jungle that awaits us in the paragraphs below, let me point out that, as far as I know, my closest relationship to the key figure in this issue of our blog / bulletin / thingee is at least 300 years old, assuming there is one. Our story begins on an unfortunately undetermined date. While some people claim that Elzéar Fortier was born in 1855, in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec, the age mentioned at the time of his death seems to indicate that he was born
A young man wearing a mask stands at a table, with two cedar boxes stacked in front of him. He is using a garden trowel to dig in a soil-like mixture inside the top box. Pieces of wood and an electric saw are visible in the workshop behind him.
3 m
Article
Earth & Environment
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The Box of Life: Grow a gorgeous garden with one of nature’s superheroes

Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
Apr 22, 2021
Looking to grow a gorgeous garden? Try vermicomposting for tangible results!
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin and Charles Augustus Lindbergh. The caption of these photographs mentions the striking resemblance between these important people in the world of astronautics and aeronautics. Anon., “Lancement du premier homme dans l’espace – Comment se sont déroulés les événements en Union soviétique.” La Tribune, 13 April 1961, 24.
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Space
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That was also one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind: The flight into space of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin in the French language press of Québec, 12-15 April 1961, Part 2

Profile picture for user rfortier
Apr 18, 2021
Welcome aboard, my reading friend. I hope you will like this second part of our article on Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin’s space flight as seen in the French-speaking Québec press in April 1961. Would you believe that the editorial writers of some major Québec dailies commented on the flight of the first Homo sapiens to travel in space? If you have no objection, let us start with the one which appeared in the 13 April issue of La Presse, a major daily in Montréal, Québec. The text written by a
Major Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin during his visit to Helsinki, Finland, July 1961. Wikimedia.
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Space
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That was also one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind: The flight into space of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin in the French language press of Québec, 12-15 April 1961, Part 1

Profile picture for user rfortier
Apr 11, 2021
Do you love birthdays, my reading friend? Our species seems fascinated by the commemoration of birthdays. Six examples from the world of aeronautics and astronautics will suffice to demonstrate my point On 12 April 1911, 110 years ago, Frenchman Pierre Prier made the first non-stop flight between London and Paris. This United Kingdom-France flight took just under 4 hours. On 12 April 1921, 100 years ago, an airliner of the Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne landed at Le Bourget
A black-and-white photograph showing a crowd gathered on the ground below the R-100, a massive blimp-like airship, tied to the top of a tall tower that looks like a lighthouse.
4 m
Article
Aviation
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It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it was a massive rigid airship called the R-100

Profile picture for user Kristy von Moos
Apr 8, 2021
In August 1930, all eyes were on Saint-Hubert, Quebec, as people waited for the arrival of a massive, rigid airship named the R-100.
Three women are visible in separate windows in a virtual meeting screen.
4 m
Article
Library and Archives
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Coffee, cats, and metadata: Archivists working from home

Profile picture for user Adele Torrance
Apr 7, 2021
The past year has been anything but typical. Staff at Ingenium’s Library and Archives have focused less on the physical and more on the digital/virtual — thanks to COVID-19 restrictions and staff mostly working from home.
A close-up view of the latch of an old, wooden, graffiti-marked door.
4 m
Article
Mining and Metallurgy
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A door to the past: Inscriptions offer a glimpse into Canada’s mining history

Profile picture for user Rebecca Dolgoy
Apr 6, 2021
What can graffiti teach us about the past? A door that once stood inside an Ontario mine is covered in layers of inscriptions, detailing the thoughts of the miners who worked there.